Riverside Board of Education members learned at their Tuesday evening meeting about the district’s new agreement with Virtual Learning Network Partners that will offer online learning options for students.

Bill Driver of VLN Partners presented information about available programming the company can provide through working with the district’s curriculum and also opening up new curriculum options that include foreign language.

The program also aims to bring back students to Riverside who have left the district to complete online schooling at home.

According to school district data, a total of 22 students living in the Riverside district were enrolled last year in online community schools that are separate from the district.

Each student who leaves the district equates to about $5,740 lost in state funding, or a total of an estimated $137,450 for these 22 students, Mr. Driver said.

For the VLN Partner initiative, the district will pay $4,500 per student who wants to participate, and the pupil will be provided with their own computer and printer/scanner device to complete their school work.